State and Air Force officials are investigating a leak of thousands of gallons of fuel, sometime between January and March, into a creek on Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs.
In a news release Monday, base officials said about 22,000 gallons of fuel that had spilled into the Piscataway Creek was discovered by personnel who found a “visible sheen and fuel odors” on March 23.
The base said it was able to capture about 10,000 gallons of fuel before it reached the creek. The base’s fueling system has since been shut down and the cause of the leak remains under investigation, base officials said.
The Maryland Department of the Environment is working with a contractor to clean up the spill site and collect soil and water quality samples, according to a state news release.
MDE reported the leak was roughly 32,000 gallons of jet fuel.
When asked about the gap between the estimates from MDE and Joint Base Andrews, a spokesperson for the base told WTOP: “The 10,000 additional gallons reported by Maryland Department of Energy is attributed to normal fluctuations due to temperature changes for January and February and a faulty valve. The fuel from this fluctuation and faulty valve was contained entirely within the fuel system and was not discharged into the environment.”
The department also said the base “failed to promptly disclose leaks as required by its state oil permit and did not report the full extent of the discharge until April 8, 2026.”
The department said the base’s leak detection system failed multiple times between January and March, but base officials did not notify the proper environmental agencies in a timely fashion.
“While Maryland values its deep ties to federal defense installations across the state, contaminating Maryland’s land and water is unacceptable,” Maryland Environment Secretary Serena McIlwain said. “The state and the local community deserve answers and a robust response.”
MDE ordered the air base to conduct emergency soil sampling to find the path of the fuel leak, install “monitoring wells” and provide daily updates about the cleanup process.
Joint Base Andrews wrote in a news release it is “committed to protecting the environment and surrounding community and to partnering with federal and state environmental agencies.”
The department said there is no threat to drinking water but advised residents to avoid swimming and consuming fish in areas of the creek where a sheen or odor is present.